Nigerians, both at home and abroad, use all sorts of Nigerian Slangs during conversations. With over 520 languages including dialects, it is indeed a country of many tongues. At VocalScript, we offer custom transcription requests meaning spoken broken/pidgin English can also be transcribed into formal English or anyhow you want it.
There are several other derivatives of British English including pidgin, also known as broken English or slang. Here’s your need-to-know guide.
Fall my hand
This is another popular slang that is used when someone is disappointed by a person or something that happened. For example, ‘no fall my hand’ means ‘don’t disappoint me’, while ‘na so dem fall my hand for there’ means ‘that’s how I was disappointed over there’.
Soji
This word is an abbreviation of the Yoruba name Adesoji, which means ‘the crown is revived’. However, when used in everyday vernacular, it means to be knowledgeable about something or street smart. For example, ‘she too soji’ means ‘she’s very smart’.
Kolo
This means to go crazy or mad. This can mean literally or metaphorically depending on the context.
Yab
This is another slang mostly used by younger people, as it’s usually in a playful yet insulting manner. It means to diss or make fun of someone. For example, ‘he loves to yab people’ means ‘he loves to diss people’.
Control(Ctrl) P
A recent slang in the Nigerian slang lexicon, ‘control P’ is a term used when someone is taking a situation too personally. For example, ‘na control P dey worry am’ means that the person being referred to is taking things too personally.
Wétin dey? (“‘What’s up/What’s going on?”)
This is another highly informal greeting – one to try out with a taxi driver or market seller, for instance. If anything, this one is even more informal than how far. It can also be used aggressively in the sense of ‘what’s your problem?’. Dropping the dey and asking someone wétin only is a good way of telling them to back off. Back it up with your best scowl.
Nawa oh! (“Wow!”)
This is an expression of surprise. The ‘oh’ at the end is usually added to a lot of words and phrases, a kind of conversational tick to add emphasis.
Maga/Mugu
This is a term used to describe someone regarded as a fool or someone who is very gullible or being conned. For example, ‘you be maga’ means ‘you’re a fool’. But in this context – ‘my maga promise me hundred thousand Naira’, it shows that the person who’s being referred to as the maga is being conned.
Other popular slangs and phrases include:
- Baffs - Designer Wears
- Bakassi/Ikebe - Booty
- ITK - overserious students. ITK means “I Too Know”
- Jand - United Kingdom
- Yankee - United States of America
- Ajebutter - rich spoilt kid
- Kak - Sit
- Troway - Waste/Throw away
- Hammer - Strike Rich
- Kpai - To die
- Awoof - Free things
- Wetin - What?
- 419 - Another Slang for Fraud
- Okada - Motor Cycle
- Waka - Walkaround
- Abi - Am I right?
- Shey? - Is that right?
- Fall my hand - to disappoint.
Remember, if you can speak it…we can script it.